Pineapple Coconut Muffins

The nostalgia of two years spent in Hawaii hangs thick upon our home as of late. I've been pining for sunny, non-scorching days and cool ocean breezes for several weeks. Pineapples beckon and tease from the produce aisle. I finally succumbed. The fruit has been taunting me from the kitchen counter ever since.

Tonight in a mood to bake, I dug up a coconut pineapple quick bread recipe. Several actually. Annalise's muffin recipe at And Now for Something Completely Delicious won out for two reason. One, she used fresh pineapple. Two, she added rum.

If you like pina coladas...

adapted from Annalise's recipe (for the original check here...my recipe is below)

makes 12 muffins

The Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
6 Tbsp + 2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp unsweetened, flaked coconut
3 egg whites
2/3 cup sour cream
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 Tbsp rum
1 1/4 cup fresh pineapple, finely diced almost to the point of mincing

The Process:
Preheat the oven to 375 and line a muffin pan with paper liners.

Spread the coconut in a thin layer on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 3-5 minutes. Allow to cool.

In a medium bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, 6 Tbsp sugar salt and cooled coconut. In a large bowl whisk together sour cream, egg whites, melted butter, and rum. Fold in the pineapple. Gently stir the dry ingredients into the sour cream mixture until just combined. Do not overmix.

Fill the muffin liners 3/4 of the way full. Combine the remaining 2 Tbsp of brown sugar and 2 Tbsp of coconut. Sprinkle about 1 tsp of the brown sugar mixture over the muffins.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Serve warm.

The Review:
These were delectable served slightly warm and with a generous spread of honey butter made by a friend. Though in all honesty the muffins were so moist and flavorful, they hardly needed any accompaniment. I'm glad I doubled the coconut from Annalise's original recipe, as well as toasting it before hand. With the sweetness of the fresh pineapple, the coconut may have been otherwise lost.

A sprinkling of chopped macadamia nuts would have pushed these muffins to en even higher level of tropical ecstasy.

With the cool evening breeze wafting through the kitchen windows and the pineapple smell still lingering, I could almost imagine I was back in Honolulu. Almost....